


Parallels

by Lilly_C



Series: Inking It Out [52]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Canon Compliant, Conversations, Episode: s02e21 Deadlock, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, References to Episode: s01e01 Caretaker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-20 02:28:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7386979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilly_C/pseuds/Lilly_C
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry felt a pang of regret as she told him of the events that led to the tragic demise of his counterpart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Parallels

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alchemicink](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alchemicink/gifts).



> Spoiler for Deadlock, set after the other Harry is sent to Voyager.
> 
> Thanks to Spike for doing beta for me, any remaining mistakes are my own.

After spending far too many hours patching up Voyager, a task that would take the whole crew weeks if not months. B'Elanna had enough, allowing herself to take a much needed break away from the chaos of battle damaged ship.

She ordered a portion of banana pancakes from the only working replicator, seeking out the farthest corner of the mess hall to reflect on the strange events of the past few days. Picking at her food, she pushed chunks of banana around her plate, switching off for the first time in a long time.

Once he'd been briefed by the Capitan on the differences between the two ships, a conversation that confused more than it comforted, he too sought refuge in the mess hall. He spotted B'Elanna sitting alone and went to sit with her. She looked like she needed some company.

“Is this seat taken?” he asked.

B'Elanna looked up from her snack to answer. “Sit down,” she replied.

“They'll be cold,” Harry observed while he took a sip of his apple juice.

Taking a small bite from the stack, she realised he was right and pushed the plate to one side. “I watched you die,” she stifled a sob. “You grabbed my hand but the force of vacuum in the breach was too much and I watched you falling into space.”

Harry felt a pang of regret as she told him of the events that led to the tragic demise of his counterpart. “The captain informed me of the circumstances, and I know that it's going to take a while before this crew get used to me being around.” They were silent for a several minutes as they silently figured out what their friendship would be like from now on and although he hadn't wanted to ask about his death, he felt that he had to just to give them both the closure that they needed.

“Don't blame yourself for my death, B'Elanna, it wasn't your fault that it happened.”

“I still feel responsible for it though because I should have pulled you out when you told me that you still had a minute before the breach occurred.”

“We've been around star ships long enough to know that breaches can occur at any time and often without warning.”

“On your Voyager,” she started, “What was I like? Were we friends?”

“The B'Elanna I knew was strong, smart and had a fiery temper. It was her quick thinking during a class at Star Fleet Academy that earned her place on voyager, she was selected by Janeway for the mission to the Delta Quadrant even though a lot of people with more authority tried to overrule her decision.”

Trying not to be surprised by that, she said, “I was with The Maquis, who were fighting the Cardassians and our vessel took a lot of hits, but I managed to get enough power to give Chakotay the thirty seconds he needed to get us into The Badlands.” She didn't know this Harry at all, purposefully leaving out some important details of that battle that she still couldn't talk about and the events that lead to this ship being in the Delta Quadrant.

“Was Tom in prison before he came to Voyager?” he asked.

“Yes. He had also being involved with the Maquis and was in The Federation Penal Settlement in New Zealand when the captain got him out to be a part of the crew. She'd served with his father on The Al-Batani and pulled some strings to ensure his release.”

Harry's smile was infectious at the moment. “That's exactly how Tom came to be on our crew.”

“A bad boy in two worlds,” she lightly joked. “What about your Chakotay and Tuvok?”

“Old friends of the captain. She maintained that she couldn't go anywhere without them, but we all knew it was because they would tell her when she'd gone too far or was being too stubborn to see reason.”

“That's the captain all right. Chakotay was Maquis too and Tuvok, although he's Star Fleet, he managed to infiltrate us to bring us to justice.”

Nodding at the implication of the anecdote she recalled earlier, he didn't pry because it was obvious to him that she wasn't quite ready to open up to him like she must have done with the other one.

B'Elanna got up and went to the replicator for two cups of Raktajino because it was shaping up to be a much longer break than she anticipated and he looked like he needed something to keep him awake.

“Thanks,” he said when she returned, placing the cups on the table.

Taking a few moments to inhale the scent of the strong drink, they sighed contently chuckling at something familiar yet new for them.

“Have you been to seen the baby?” he asked.

“Not yet, I want to give Ensign Wildman the time she needs to bond with her. It is a lovely thing that your captain did Harry, mine would have done the same thing had the situation been reversed.”

“I don't doubt that,” he said, “I just can't imagine what she must be going through been so far away from her family.”

Hiding a small smile, B'Elanna said, “For quite a while after we were flung into this part of space, you would often talk about your family and how hard it was for you to be so far away from your mum.”

“I did? That's strange because my mum cut me off when I told her I'd been selected for the Voyager mission.”

“I'm sorry Harry, I hadn't realised that your life would have been different to his as well. If we get ever get back to Earth will you tell her about what happened when we were inside the plasma cloud.” 

“No. I don't know, maybe. It depends on how long it takes us to get back.”

Tidying up their used plates and cups, they deposited them in the replicator to be cleaned before they returned to work in their respective areas on the ship.


End file.
